Shelter: A Mickey Bolitar Novel

Mickey Bolitar’s year can’t get much worse. After witnessing his father’s death and sending his mom to rehab, he’s forced to live with his estranged uncle Myron and switch high schools. A new school comes with new friends and new enemies, and lucky for Mickey, it also comes with a great new girlfriend, Ashley. For a while, it seems like Mickey’s train wreck of a life is finally improving - until Ashley vanishes without a trace. Unwilling to let another person walk out of his life, Mickey follows Ashley’s trail into a seedy underworld that reveals that this seemingly sweet, shy girl isn’t who she claimed to be.

The story picks up where the last Myron Bolitar story left off, only this is told from Mickey's perspective. Although none of the familiar Myron Bolitar characters are involved, Mickey stands on his own, with his own well-developed sidekicks to save him from himself. I listened to this with my 17 yr old daughter, and we both appreciated how the narrator was completely believable as a 15 year old without descending into stereotype. The story starts out almost like a halloween tale, but is actually quite intricate, from the disappearance of Ashley to the true identity of the bat lady. The story is compelling beyond the mystery - Mickey's loss of his father, his mother's addiction relapse, the resentment of his uncle, are woven throughout and create the image of a young man who is aching with loss, almost overpowering the mystery at times. A good listen!

The Dead Room

A young woman is found, brutally murdered and left on gruesome display in the "safety" of her own home. The atrocity kicks off an investigation into a bizarre string of increasingly disturbing murders, all believed to be perpetrated by someone of unprecedented savagery and cunning.

This may well be my favorite audiobook in recent memory. Its the story of Teddy, a lawyer who has joined a firm specifically to never have to deal with criminal law.3 months after joining the firm, he is thrust into a brutal, bloody, high profile case as a favor to the senior partner. This brings up a myriad of issues for Teddy about his past, because he believes that the accused is innocent, as was his father when he was a child.

The revelations about the true nature of the senior partner, plus the district attorney, are laid bare in a frighteningly realistic way that has life changing consequences for everyone involved.

I don't want to spoil the story, but I have to say - I did not see the end coming. At all. When I thought it was over, it wasn't.

MCCance does an amazing narration - the characters are are well developed and easy to distinguish, and he voices then with emotion and inflection unique to each role. An excellent listen!

The Victim: Detective Jake Hunter, Volume 1

When two local gangbangers are found dead, who really cares? This "who cares" case quickly turns into a high-profile hunt for a serial vigilante killer. The body count and pressure rise in Fort Worth, Texas, as local community leaders and media pundits stir up political discourse and racial tensions mount. Police Detective Jake "Cowboy" Hunter has been out of the field for six months struggling to overcome the on-duty shooting death of his longtime partner. His boss has an easy case for him to "get back in the saddle" while breaking in a new detective.

Halliburton's narration was as exciting as reading a cereal box. Flat, uninvolved. I tried to get into the story, but the performance just killed it for me. Oddly, he did character voices quite well except for the protagonist, and then he'd return to this flat dry narration that could not hold my attention or interest. Very disappointing.

The Wire in the Blood: A Tony Hill & Carol Jordan Mystery, Book 2

Across the country, dozens of teenage girls have vanished. It's the job of criminal profilers Dr. Tony Hill and Carol Jordan to look for a pattern. They've spent years exploring the psyches of madmen. But sane men kill, too. And when they hide in plain sight, they can be difficult to find. He's handsome and talented, rich and famous - a notorious charmer with the power to seduce...and the will to destroy. No one can fathom what he's about to do next.

What made the experience of listening to The Wire in the Blood the most enjoyable?

The narration was an outstanding feature of this story. MTB revels in the psychopathy that is Jacko Vance. He lingers over the details of Vance's crimes like Hannibal Lector reading his favorite story. Yet, he has very distinct and realistic characterizations of Carol and Tony. Intricate psychological police procedural brought to life - VMD's interpretation of Jacko's sociopathy is frighteningly real.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I liked Jacko Vance. He was such a complete illustration of a sociopath, reveling in his power and his duplicity. He had such complete confidence in himself and his ability to manipulate people. I also enjoy the evolution of the relationship between Tony and Carol. She is intelligent and ambitious, yet the author avoids the usual, tired traps of making her do stupid things because of her connection with Tony. They are able to focus on work, and take the reader through the intricacies of evidence vs theory, etc. with an attention to detail that doesn't bog the reader down, and keeps the story moving.

Any additional comments?

Because of the intricacy of the plots, it can be a bit rough going at the beginning of the story, but stick with it - These books are a wonderfully entertaining series.

My Second Death: A Novel

In Lydia Cooper's wry and absorbing debut novel, we are introduced to Mickey Brandis, a brilliant 28-year-old doctoral candidate in medieval literature who is part Lisbeth Salander and part Dexter. She lives in her parents' garage and swears too often, but she never complains about the rain or cold, she rarely eats dead animals, and she hasn't killed a man since she was 10. Her life is dull and predictable but legal, and she intends to keep it that way.

If you could sum up My Second Death in three words, what would they be?

Unexpected! The woman, Michaela, has antisocial personality disorder. This story is told from her perspective.

What was one of the most memorable moments of My Second Death?

When the true nature of her relationship with her brother David was revealed. Although she has a personality disorder (and probably some kind of developmental disorder on the autism spectrum), Her brother is the true madman. One can sense it from the story, but just wait......

What does Dina Pearlman bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

At first, I found her abrasive and flat - then I realized that was Micki's character. Perlman actually develops a broad range of characters, from the perfect mother, the gruff father, to her insane brother. She is excellent at creating a whole character with her voice. The more I listened, the more I appreciated her characterization of Micki.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

There is a moment in the book where she realizes that at times, her difference from others allows her to see truth more clearly. I don't want to spoil the story by going into detail, but it has to do with the cat that she let run out of the apartment. I was horrified, yet understood her plight, realizing that she was different, and unless she wanted to prolong suffering, others were going to see her difference and be horrified at what they were witnessing.

Gun Games: A Decker/Lazarus Novel

LAPD lieutenant detective Decker and his wife, Rina, have willingly welcomed fifteen-year-old Gabriel Whitman into their home. While the enigmatic teen seems to be adapting easily, Decker knows only too well the secrets adolescents keep - witnessed by the tragic suicide of another teen, Gregory Hesse, a student at Bell and Wakefield, one of the city’s most exclusive prep schools. Gregory’s mother refuses to believe her son shot himself and convinces Decker to look deeper. What he finds disturbs him. The gun used in the tragedy was stolen....

Would you consider the audio edition of Gun Games to be better than the print version?

Greenberg IS Peter Decker, and Rina - I didn't care so much for his characterization of Gabe and Yasmin. They sounded juvenile and whiny most of the time. I don't know that that is necessarily Greenberg's fault, it could be the way the characters were written.

Who was your favorite character and why?

I think that Kellerman did a great job with Gabe's character, who was a contradiction of maturity and full-blown male adolescence.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Yasmin's fear that she was going to be raped was heart wrenching. The bewilderment she experienced at somehow becoming a target of a group that she was unaware of, and it could cost her her life, made her fear surreal.

Any additional comments?

There wasn't much of Rina Decker in this book, not necessarily a bad thing, but I missed her insights. I was not a fan of the fairly graphic sexual encounters with Gabe and Yasmin, who has to be the whiniest teenager I've ever met, and I've raised my own!

The Bone Bed: Scarpetta, Book 20

A woman has vanished while digging a dinosaur bone bed in the remote wilderness of Canada. Somehow, the only evidence has made its way to the inbox of Chief Medical Examiner Kay Scarpetta, over 2,000 miles away, in Boston. She has no idea why. But as events unfold with alarming speed, Scarpetta begins to suspect that the paleontologist's disappearance is connected to a series of crimes - much closer to home: a gruesome murder, inexplicable tortures, and trace evidence from the last living creatures of the dinosaur age.

Perhaps Patricia Cornwell's style holds more appeal for new fans. I miss the excitement and intensity of her earliest works, such as "All That Remains", "Postmortem", or "Cruel and Unusual". In these books, her characters evolved and had dimension, passion. Very different from Bone Bed.

Has The Bone Bed turned you off from other books in this genre?

I love the genre, with its blend of police procedure and medical technology.

If you could play editor, what scene or scenes would you have cut from The Bone Bed?

I would have cut the conflict between Kay and Benton - its gotten predictable and they get through it, and it just adds to the frustration of trying to find something to like about her books. I would also resolve and never mention again the conflict between Benton and Marino. Lucy and Marino have become one dimensional in their messed up lives, and add to the bitter, dour flavor of Cornwell's books.

Any additional comments?

I found this narrator to be pedantic and melodramatic, envisioning her pacing dramatically with her hand to her forehead as she carefully enunciated words like she was reading to idiots. I realize this is harsh, but it was awful. I may not be done with the genre, but I am done with Patricia Cornwell

The Serial Killer Whisperer: How One Man's Tragedy Helped Unlock the Deadliest Secrets of the World's Most Terrifying Killers

From New York Times best-selling author Pete Earley: the strange but true story of a man who suffers a traumatic brain injury and as a result is given the ability to converse with the world's most terrifying criminals.

The book lingers on the graphic sexual violence, trying to illustrate how depraved these killers are, but I felt it was unnecessary to put so much detail into the book. Since most of the readers are not serial killers, a little bit goes a long way toward making the point. And if a reader is a serial killer in a prison somewhere, this is like pornography to them. I wish the book would have focused more on how Tony and his family, through the relationships they had established with the SKs, helped families of the missing, and how it helped Tony realize his goals of having a useful life.

What was the most interesting aspect of this story? The least interesting?

I was stunned that his parents would let their child write to serial killers, let alone become so involved with so many. I found it interesting that the SKs were still so manipulative even behind bars, after all those years. I understand that Tony was initially so interested because he was afraid that he was potentially a serial killer, and over time he realized that in spite of his brain injuries he would never evolve into a killer.

Which scene was your favorite?

There was no "scene" which was my favorite, but I am glad I finished the book because Tony finds something useful to do with his bizarre relationships with these deeply disturbing people

Did The Serial Killer Whisperer inspire you to do anything?

It has actually put me off reading mysteries with sexual violence in them.

Bones Are Forever: A Temperance Brennan Novel, Book 15

Temperance Brennan has been asked to examine the corpses of three dead babies in Montreal. It’s a difficult assignment, complicated further by the fact that her long-time flame Detective Ryan is investigating the infants’ mother, a former (and possibly current) prostitute. When the woman flees to Edmonton, the investigation is joined by Royal Canadian Mounted Police sergeant with whom Tempe had an ill-advised fling over a decade earlier. The dissonant team heads to remotest Yellowknife - mining country - to pursue an ever more sinister trail.

Reich's Dr. Brennan is evolving into a more balanced character, with a stable, realistic personal life as well as an exceptional professional life. Over the years, Brennan has sacrificed a lot, and its nice that Reichs doesn't sully the grittiness of her character by giving her a fantasy-quality personal life. Emond does an excellent job, bringing shape to Brennan's colleagues without overshadowing the story. The forensic details bring the tragic aspects of this story to life, although I found it difficult to like any of the characters. Until the story expands to include other dimensions, it was difficult to listen to, yet I had to know what happened......

Did the plot keep you on the edge of your seat? How?

The story opens with dead babies - its a visceral blow that had me almost holding my breath as they hunt for the woman they believe is responsible. Horrible as that is, its just the tip of the iceberg

Any additional comments?

I could have done without all of the details of diamond mining. Way too much information, and it didn't add to the story.

11th Hour: Women's Murder Club, Book 11

Lindsay Boxer is pregnant at last! But her work doesn't slow for a second. When millionaire Chaz Smith is mercilessly gunned down, she discovers that the murder weapon is linked to the deaths of four of San Francisco's most untouchable criminals. And it was taken from her own department's evidence locker. Anyone could be the killer - even her closest friends. Lindsay is called next to the most bizarre crime scene she's ever seen: two bodiless heads elaborately displayed in the garden of a world-famous actor....

The women's murder club series continues to portray strong female characters dealing with personal and professional ambitions, but not at the expense of the intensity of the story. Lindsay and her cohorts struggle with balancing professional boundaries with friendships as well as the whole marriage-kids-career triad. The story itself is intense and eery, and took a twist I didn't see coming.

What was one of the most memorable moments of 11th Hour?

The moment that they saw the arrangement for the first time was pivotal to the rest of the story. Don't want to give away the story, so that's all I'm gonna say:)

What didn’t you like about January LaVoy’s performance?

I didn't care for January LaVoy's performance at all. Her accents were weak and inconsistent at best. Having listened to a number of the women's murder club stories by Carolyn McCormick, I developed an expectation of her voice and performance as the expression of Lindsay Boxer, etc. LaVoy is a weak substitute.

Stolen Prey

.Lucas Davenport has seen many terrible murder scenes. This is one of the worst. In the small Minnesota town of Deephaven, an entire family has been killed - husband, wife, two daughters, dogs. There’s something about the scene that pokes at Lucas’s cop instincts - it looks an awful lot like the kind of scorched-earth retribution he’s seen in drug killings sometimes. But this is a seriously upscale town, and the husband was an executive vice president at a big bank. It just doesn’t seem to fit.

Each character was well developed. In the triangle of the BCA, the thieves, and the killers, I was drawn in by the story of their lives. The naivety of the thieves was their downfall.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Stolen Prey?

Loved the last line of the story. That's all I'm gonna say. The most intense part of the story was Letty's role in the end of the line for the killers.

Did Richard Ferrone do a good job differentiating all the characters? How?

I did not care for Ferrone's narration. His differentiation consisted of nasal whining for other adults, or higher pitched whining for women. I listened in spite of him, not because of him. Would rather read the next Sanford novel than listen to him again.

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